Reconciliation
by WingedPegasus
Summary: Tag to 4x04, "Let Me Stand Next to Your Fire." Coulson informs May that Daisy is back, and May has a necessary but unpleasant conversation with her former student. (T for minor language)


_Rated T for language because May is angry._

* * *

It was late. Fitz, Radcliffe, Aida and Simmons were off in another corner of the house having an animated discussion, likely about some sort of complicated scientific research May couldn't hope to understand, and Coulson had been speaking with her in the relative privacy of the kitchen. But now, he was acting downright fidgety.

"Phil."

He half-turned and looked at her questioningly. "Hm?"

"You're hiding something. What is it?" Coulson let out a sigh and set down the paperweight he'd been rubbing smooth for the past ten minutes, then sat on the stool next to hers. He was silent for a moment.

"Daisy's back."

Melinda sat ramrod straight. "What?"

"We picked her up last night. She was trying to get James on her side, but he was working with the Watchdogs and turned on her."

Concern flooded May's face. "Is she all right?"

"Not exactly. She's a mess, but not because of last night. There's a bullet hole in her shoulder and she's been using her powers constantly without her gauntlets this whole time." Phil scrubbed his face with his hands. "Elena's been bringing her stolen bone regeneration pills, but her left arm is completely fractured."

She knew Phil. Even injured, even with an asset stealing SHIELD medication behind his back, he should be practically overjoyed to have Daisy at the base after all this time. "Is that why you're not happy she's back?"

Phil shook his head. "She's not really back. I had to coerce her to work with SHIELD again, even for a short while. When I finally saw her, I knew why she hasn't come back. Everything that's gone wrong, all the deaths—Lincoln, Tripp, her mother... it's all piled up. She thinks it's all her fault, and she can't handle it. Going rogue and trying to bring down the Watchdogs alone—she's being reckless on purpose and distancing herself for when it finally catches up with her. She's doing it on purpose. She wants to die."

The furrow of concern in May's brow had slowly deepened the longer Coulson spoke. "How can you be sure?" she asked quietly.

Phil looked up at May's pained expression. "Because I saw her face." He met her gaze. "I've seen that face before."

May quickly glanced away, taking a deep breath. "Let me talk to her."

* * *

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Daisy bolted upright from where she had been lying on the bed in the Playground's guest quarters, wincing at pain in her arms from the sudden motion. May had flung her door open and now stood in the center of her room, arms folded formidably.

"'Hi May, missed you too, good to see you're feeling better,'" Daisy replied sarcastically.

May scoffed. "Like you care."

"Like I—of course I care!" Daisy shot off the bed. "I left _because_ I care! Because I can't stand being responsible for hurting the people I love anymore!"

"So you're martyring yourself for our benefit? Bullshit. You feel guilty and you want to get yourself killed. That's selfish, not selfless."

"You're one to talk! I know you wanted to off yourself before Coulson recruited you. I just didn't know why until my psychopath of a mother told me what happened in Bahrain."

May was taken aback. "How did you know that?"

"It was in your psych file." Daisy wiggled her fingers to mime typing. "Shaking stuff isn't my first superpower, remember?" She shifted her weight uncomfortably. "Besides, it doesn't take a genius to figure out."

Angered as she was by the invasion of privacy, May was all too familiar with the picture of a miserable young woman hiding behind a tough mask. "You're my trainee. You're not allowed to make the same mistakes I did," she said quietly.

Daisy laughed bitterly. "Then I guess you lead by example a little too well."

May took a step forward, her tone hardening again. "If you know I've been when you are, then listen up: Getting yourself killed isn't going to fix anything, it's not going to make anything better. It's just going to cause a lot more pain for the people you claim to care about."

Daisy opened her mouth to respond, but May continued her onslaught.

"What makes you think you're so special that just being around the people you care about puts them in more danger? We're Agents, Daisy. Coulson and I almost died a dozen times before you were even born. We all have targets painted on our backs, and having to jet around the world looking for you just makes those targets more visible."

"Then stop looking for me!" Daisy begged. Despite her best efforts, she could feel her facade starting to crumble.

May shook her head. "You know we can't do that, and you know why." May turned and started toward the door, then stopped. "You've been looking for a family your whole life. Don't run now that you've finally found one."

The door shut, and Daisy slumped to the floor, tears filling her eyes.

* * *

About an hour later, Coulson heard a soft knock—immediately followed by a quiet " _ouch"_ -at his office door. He opened it to find Daisy standing outside, cradling her arm. Disheveled and red-eyed, she had obviously been crying.

"Listen, Coulson, you probably don't even want to see me right now, but May came and talked to me and... I'm sorry." Her breath hitched in her throat.

"I'm so sorry," she continued, "All of you mean so much to me, I just couldn't... couldn't live with the thought of anyone else I love getting killed because of me." "But I missed you, I missed this place... I need to be close to the people I want to keep safe. I don't want to stay away anymore." She looked up, eyes filled with tears again. "Will you let me come back?"

Coulson smiled. "Of course. It won't be as easy as when I was director, this new guy might take some convincing. But I'll get you back."

She nodded, filled with relief. SHIELD was her home.

Coulson enveloped her in a gentle hug, careful not to put too much pressure on her bruised arms. It was everything she would expect from a dad; warm, comforting, smelling faintly of coffee and some deodorant that hadn't been popular since the '40s. It was wonderful. "Welcome home, Skye."

"... it's Daisy."

"Dammit."

* * *

 _Review if you liked it. :D_

 _I wanted to have a less angry scene between Daisy and May, but I felt like this was more in character. I have an idea for a fluffier follow-up, though._

 _EDIT: The fluffy follow-up fic is done! It's called "Good Vibrations", and you can find it on my profile.  
_


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